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The Italian Navy is co-hosting what could be described as a secondhand ship show in Italy next month as it retires dozens of seasoned vessels and brings new ships into service.

Officials from 11 navies around the world are due to attend the event at the Navy’s La Spezia base May 24-27 to scout for bargains among various classes of vessel, which Italy is hoping to make some much needed money by selling.

“Up until now the Navy has negotiated the sale of its vessels on a one-to-one basis, so this is a new approach,” said Laura Parducci, an official with the local chamber of commerce, which organizes the event. “People coming will be able to sign deals there and then."

Parducci said that the navies of Singapore and Brazil were sending rear admirals to the show, while other navies sending officials included Georgia, Japan, Morocco, Peru, Senegal, Tunisia, Turkey, Uruguay and Nigeria.

“The idea is that visitors can meet firms like Fincantieri, which would host a vessel during an upgrade, as well as the small firms that could be involved in the work,” a spokeswoman with the chamber of commerce said.